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The Patients' View of Life in a Psychiatric Hospital

A Questionnaire Study and Associated Methodological Considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

D. H. Myers ,
A. Leahy ,
H. Shoeb  and
J. Ryder
D. H. Myers
Affiliation:
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Shelton, Shrewsbury, and University of Birmingham
A. Leahy
Affiliation:
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
H. Shoeb
Affiliation:
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
J. Ryder
Affiliation:
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
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Abstract

In any assessment of hospital life, the patients' view is indispensable, but there is no generally accepted way of seeking it. In this study, the views of 258 patients in four ‘traditional’ English psychiatric hospitals were obtained by a questionnaire of 45 items supplemented by freehand comments. Their experience of fellow patients, the staff and the material and institutional aspects of hospital care were explored. Some of the benefits and problems of questionnaire use in this realm are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 156 , Issue 6 , June 1990 , pp. 853 - 860
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1990 

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